Qualcomm still dominates mobile radio IC market

Qualcomm is the daddy of the mobile market and it is still the world's biggest maker of mobile SoCs used in millions of smartphones and tablets. However, SoCs aren't the only products Qualcomm has in millions of devices. In fact, its lead in mobile radio gear is even bigger.

According to teardown.com, which has taken apart more than 400 tablets and smartphones over the last two years, Qualcomm has a 70 percent market share in terms of cellular chipsets. Teardown used a somewhat smaller sample for its survey - just 78 out of 400. However, Qualcomm radio silicon was in 54 out of 78 devices. Intel ranked second with 12 devices, MediaTek came in third with eight, while other chipmakers had just four out of 78 devices.

Qualcomm RF transceivers were found in 76 percent of torn down gadgets, trailed by Intel with 13 percent and MediaTek at 13 percent. The only segment where Qualcomm wasn't on top was the combo radio IC space (WiFI/Bluetooth solutiosn). Broadcom leads the way with 33 percent, while Qualcomm ranks second at 25 percent.